Newer planes — with more overhead storage space — and a commitment to sustainability.
United Airlines on Monday launched a national campaign — “Good Leads the Way” — which includes those ideas while promoting the good intentions of the carrier, which has a hub at Newark Liberty International Airport and is one of the state’s top employers.
United officials said the campaign aims to tell the story of United’s leadership in areas such as customer service, diversity and sustainability, while attempting to capture the optimism fueling the airline’s large ambitions at a time of unprecedented demand in air travel.
“In the past few years, United has emerged as a force for good and an industry leader,” United CEO Scott Kirby said. “We’re taking actions that inspire pride among our employees and customers — everything from historic investments to fighting climate change and training more women and people of color to become pilots, to getting rid of change fees and upgrading our fleet with 500 new planes.
“This campaign serves not only as an exclamation point on our recent actions, but also as a commitment to how United Airlines intends to show up in the future.”
The national campaign, United’s first fully integrated, national brand advertising campaign in nearly a decade, comes at an important moment for the airline, as its launch coincides with the kickoff of the summer travel season and a historic increase in demand. It also comes after a strong April, in which United’s seat fill-in was the highest ever for a non-summer month, with 88% of seats occupied.
Here are some of what United will be promoting:
For customers
- 500-plus new aircraft — and hundreds of plane upgrades — by 2026, with features like larger overhead bins, screens in every seatback, Bluetooth connectivity and fast Wi-Fi;
- First major global U.S. airline to eliminate change fees on most tickets.
For communities
- Aim to hire more than 50,000 people in the next five years, providing unionized, well-paying careers as pilots, flight attendants, agents, technicians and dispatchers;
- Aim to train 5,000 new pilots by 2030 through the United Aviate Academy, with the goal that at least half will be women and people of color;
- Aim to invest more in sustainable aviation fuel production than any other airline in the world;
- Committing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 100% by 2050, without relying on traditional carbon offsets.
For employees
- Careers, not just jobs: United offers competitive pay and benefits, the chance to grow and flight privileges to see the world;
- Only major U.S, airline with its own pilot training school: United Aviate Academy;
- New, state-of-the-art in-flight training center opening this year in Houston;
- World’s largest flight training center in Denver.
